TRADITIONALLY a recession is good news for the entertainment industry as a good night out is considered a necessity in dark times.

But in the past home entertainment meant three TV channels or board games!

In 2009 we have many households with mutli-channel-surround-sound TVs, fantastic games consoles and, if that isn’t enough, the World Wide Web just a click away.

This naturally gives people plenty of reasons to stay in as well as justify the money spent on such a feast of pleasure.

So to prod punters into action local bands will have to approach this year with a two pronged fork.

One prong will have to grab their attention via the media: local press, the Internet or BBC radio as the commercial side seems to have turned its back on local musicians.

The other prong will come from putting on great gigs with like-minded artists.

Collaboration and the sharing of fans is my prediction for the future of local music.

A great example was Southampton based Hijera’s ‘Grey Matter’ nights. They showcased themselves and their favourite bands, had a great time doing so until promoting the nights hampered the band’s progress.

But if you can provide one night of great entertainment, or even a mini-festival of talent, then you’ll spread your music beyond the boundaries of your fan base.

People are now used to a multi-channel experience and in some respects bands have to transfer that to the stage.